Planning the Sequence, Part II

It's time to see how the sketches work in real life. Each firework is oriented per plan on the pallets. By doing this I can see if there are any conflicts, how the visco will be run and if each item will fit. If more space can be made, great. I'll end up cutting the pallet down making it easier to transport and set-up.

Items next to each other that are not being ignited simultaneously should be separated by a minimum of 2 inches. I cover fusing with tinfoil just prior to the show, but a smoldering cake (which sometimes happens) may cause a premature ignition of another item so the space is a small measure of insurance.

Act III sketch: To dry install the works, confirming functionality.

Some act III cakes staged on pallet, reality is a little different than
planned - demonstrating the value of the exercise.

Attention should be paid to "fanned" (trapezoidal) items, to ensure they are perpendicular to the crowd, and that each are parallel to the others before being fixed to the pallet. Some fireworks will actually indicate "face to audience" on one side. This, and the amount of time between ignitions have to be considered before proceeding, as a distance too great between items may lead to unnecessary extra work to compensate for precise fuse timing. Not to mention the wasted visco - which isn't easy to come by here!

Once the layout is confirmed, each item is traced out in pencil on the pallet, along with the fuse location and item number as it appears in the plan. This will make sure there are no mistakes once it comes time to fasten the items in place. Fuse location marks will be drilled to allow fusing to come up through the pallet (unless the space is already available).

Now I have some idea about mounting candle & barrage-type items, and with the physical staging can glean some dimensions to work within. In most cases these items will be fanned for greater sky coverage and better viewing. More on this in a future post.